Method of and apparatus for cleaning runoff water

ABSTRACT

Runoff water from parking lots and filling stations is cleaned by first passing it via an inlet pipe tangentally into a vortex chamber where the swirling action helps to separate the contaminants from the water. Floating contaminants are stored in the vortex chamber, trapped at the top of the chamber by the roof of that chamber and at the lower part of the chamber by a skirt which is part of the chamber and extends downwardly for a limited distance from the inlet pipe. That roof has an access opening to permit removal of the floating contaminants. The body of the fluid thereafter moves downward into a settling chamber where heavier-than-water contaminants settle to the bottom where they can be removed during regular cleaning. As the fluid in the settling chamber builds up it passes through cleaning screens to a clean water outlet. A by-pass overflow pipe to process very large volumes of water extends upward from the settling chamber and ultimately feeds the outlet pipe. Each screen may have louvers projecting from the screen for preventing contaminants from blocking the screen.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of my copending Provisional application Ser. No. 60/514,176, filed Oct. 25, 2003.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention was developed for use in stormwater drainage systems, and combined sewer systems (some older US cities have combined sanitary and stormwater sewers). These sewers are designed and constructed to convey water from a developed area into natural receiving water or other destination. When storm sewers were first constructed, the goal was to remove the water from the developed area and convey it into the receiving water as quickly as possible. At that time, no attention was paid to the potential for pollution from stormwater runoff.

During the last twenty years, stormwater runoff has been identified as a significant source of pollution in waters of the United States. The stormwater runoff from a developed area (a parking lot, for example) can contain oils and other fluids from leaking cars, zinc and heavy metals from brake pads and other sources, nutrients from fertilizers and air pollution, sediments, and garbage and other debris. All of these constituents impact the receiving water that the stormwater drainage system discharges to.

In addition to these pollutants, many older US cities have combined sewer systems, in which the sanitary sewer drainage and stormwater runoff are conveyed in the same pipes. These systems function perfectly well when the weather is dry, but have the potential to overflow during large storms. Because wastewater treatment plants are designed to handle limited flows, even frequently recurring storms have the potential to exceed the treatment capacity of the plant. These cases are termed combined-sewer overflows (CSOs).

With the reauthorization of the Clean Water Act, Congress gave EPA the authority to regulate discharges to waters of the United States from larger stormwater drainage systems, including CSOs. Over the last four years, the scope of the regulation has been increased to include many medium sized and small stormwater drainage systems as well. In response to increasing regulation and federal oversight, a demand exists for devices which are capable of removing stormwater-specific pollutants from a flow stream.

Other technologies, including BaySaver's patented physical separator (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,746,911 and 6,264,835), rely on gravity settling and sedimentation to remove suspended sediments, oils, and other floatable debris from stormwater runoff. These systems, while effective at low flow rates, often include a bypass structure that allows high flows to pass through or around the system untreated. Although the runoff during intense storms usually has lower concentration of pollutants like sediments, nutrients, and oils, there is often a significant amount of trash, debris, and other floatable material entrained in the water. The present invention is intended to remove these constituents from stormwater or CSO runoff and retain them in a structure so that they can be easily removed during routine maintenance.

The prior art used for this purpose includes several US-patented systems. These systems often rely on vortex technology and hydraulic flow controls to enhance the removal of contaminants from the influent water, and many of the existing systems include. multiple outlet streams: a single outlet for treated effluent, and a second outlet for contaminated flow.

The present invention consists of a single container, which contains a chamber to remove and retain large floatable pollutants, as well as a system of one or more permeable barriers to remove and retain the smaller pollutants that escape from the first chamber. A bypass flow path is also provided in case the expected influent flow rate exceeds the flow captivity of the invention. In addition to this preferred form, an alternate form of the invention relies on external controls to prevent excessive flows from entering the unit, negating the necessity of a bypass flow path within the unit.

The invention relies on two methods to remove undesirable contaminants from the influent stream: physical separation of the contaminants due to differences in specific gravity, and interception of contaminants by permeable barriers placed within the unit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A vortex chamber is used to swirl runoff water to separate the contaminants from the water. Such a vortex chamber has a conventional input for feeding the runoff water under sufficient head to produce the swirl.

A settling tank is at a lower level than the vortex chamber and receives the water and the heavier-than-water contaminants.

The vortex chamber is new in that it has a skirt portion extending downwardly from the inlet pipe. This skirt portion will. have water in it continuously and will, therefore, receive and hold the lighter-than-water contaminants until they are removed by a regular cleaning.

The skirt portion has a funnel in it which causes the water from the swirl to speed up and then expand when it leaves the funnel and passes into the settling chamber. The aforesaid increase in speed followed by an expansion further tends to separate the contaminants from the water.

A shelf in the settling chamber acts as means for preventing the swirling water from resuspending any accumulated material in the settling chamber.

The head of water in the skirt forces the water in the settling chamber to rise along the outer sidewall of the skirt. There it passes through permeable barriers (which may be screens) to a clean water outlet.

The permeable barriers which clean the water have a series of louvers projecting from the permeable barriers at acute angles to the direction of flow (See FIG. 9). This enables the louvers to prevent contaminants from blocking the permeable barrier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the preferred form of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the preferred form of the invention taken along line A-A as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the preferred form of the invention taken along line B-B as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a first modified form of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of a first modified form of the invention taken along line C-C as indicated in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a second modified form of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of the second modified form of the invention taken along line D-D as indicated in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the permeable barrier(s) 15 that are included in each form of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the permeable barrier(s) taken across line E-E as indicated in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 show the preferred form the invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the invention. FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along line A-A as indicated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line B-B as indicated in FIG. 1.

The invention is housed in a container, comprising a floor 25, a top 21 with an opening 22 for access, and side walls 11. A fluid carrying contaminants to be separated is introduced to the system through inlet 12, which penetrates side wall 11 and conveys the fluid to pipe 13. Inlet means 12 conveys a fluid that has sufficient upstream head to force the fluid through the system, as indicated by the vertical section of inlet means 12 in FIG. 2. From pipe 13, the fluid enters vortex chamber 14, tangentially, as commonly done, where the swirling action helps to separate the contaminants from the fluid. Floating contaminants are stored in the vortex chamber 14, trapped by the roof 21 of the vortex chamber. In the roof 21 of the vortex chamber is a sealed opening 22 that can be removed to provide access to the accumulated contaminants within the chamber.

The cylindrical sidewall, of vortex chamber 14, extends considerably below the lowest part of inlet pipe 12, to form a skirt portion which in turn forms a storage chamber for lighter-than-water contaminants. When oil or other low density contaminants are separated from the water by the swirling action, such low-density contaminants remain on the surface of the water that has moved downward from the space where the swirl occurred. These light-weight contaminants remain on the surface of the water in tank 11, until the system is given its periodic cleaning at which time such contaminants are removed from the lower part of the vortex chamber 14 through opening 22 in the top of that chamber.

The fluid exits vortex chamber 14 by flowing downward through the inclined walls 27. The inclined walls 27 maintain the swirling flow path while increasing the velocity of the fluid through this part of the invention. When the fluid passes through the narrowest part of inclined walls 27 and enters settling chamber 26, the fluid loses a significant amount of energy because of the sudden expansion. This energy loss helps to settle contaminants that are denser than the fluid to the floor 25 of the structure. Once the material is settled on floor 25 of the structure, a shelf 29 prevents the swirling currents from resuspending the accumulated material, and the material is retained in the structure until it is removed.

Once the fluid flows from the confines of chamber 14 down through inclined walls 27 and into settling chamber 26, it is driven outward around skirt 28 and up through permeable barrier or barriers 15. Each of the one or more permeable barrier(s) 15 is a plate or similar structure containing a plurality of openings intended to allow the fluid to pass through the permeable barrier (screen) while trapping contaminants within the confines of the settling chamber 26. The openings in permeable barrier(15) can be sized to trap particular contaminants, and can be designed in such a way as to not impede the flow. This is accomplished through the use of louvers angled against the direction of flow, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Additionally, more than one permeable barrier 15 may allow for enhanced pollutant removal by the present invention. Permeable barrier(s) 15 are placed within the unit in a horizontal fashion, parallel with the unit floor and allowing fluid to flow vertically through the barrier. In instances where multiple barriers are used, the size of the openings may or may not vary with the different barriers. This variability allows the present invention to be designed for specific instances in which particular contaminants are expected and desired to be removed.

Once the fluid flow has passed through permeable barrier(s) 15, it enters outlet means 16, which conveys the treated effluent to its destination. The lowest point of outlet means 16 is at the same elevation or lower than the lowest point of inlet means 12. Because of this relationship, the present invention functions under gravity flow, and requires no additional sources of energy to operate. This relationship also prevents the present invention from causing a backup in inlet means 12. Said backup could potentially cause problems with upstream structures, and is a generally undesirable feature of such systems.

During periods of high influent flow rates, an additional flow path through the present invention is possible. In this case, the influent fluid enters the present invention through inlet means 12, is conveyed into vortex chamber 14 by conveyance means 13, and enters settling chamber 26 from vortex chamber 14 as it does under normal flow conditions. If the plurality of openings in permeable barrier(s) 15 does not allow the full flow of the fluid to pass through to the outlet means 16, the fluid will be forced through the overflow 17. The fluid enters overflow means 17 from a point below the bottom of the lowest permeable barrier(s) 15, and is forced upward through overflow means 17 by hydrostatic pressure. When the influent flow rate to the present invention is great enough, this hydrostatic pressure will force the fluid upwards through the open top of overflow 17, allowing the excess water to enter outlet means 16 without passing through permeable barrier(s) 15. This flow path is utilized during periods when the flow rate is high enough that the influent fluid cannot pass through the plurality of openings in permeable barrier(s) 15, or if the plurality of openings in permeable barrier(s) 15 are blocked by some item that prevents normal operation.

Openings 24 in the top of the unit itself and 22 in the top of the vortex chamber allow access to the trapped contaminants. This access can be used for environmental monitoring, process monitoring, or maintenance purposes. In addition to the floatable storage within the vortex chamber, these openings also allow access to the settling chamber to remove any pollutants that have settled to the floor of the device.

FIRST MODIFIED FORM OF THE INVENTION

A first modified form of the invention is shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. During normal flow conditions, this form of the invention functions identically to the preferred form. This modified form of the invention, however, does not include the overflow pipe 17 found in the preferred form. Because this overflow is not a part of the modified form of the invention, it functions differently in periods of high influent flow rate.

During periods of high influent flow rate, the fluid backs up in the inlet means 112 until the hydrostatic pressure is sufficient to drive the fluid through the permeable barrier(s) 115. Most often, the modified form of the invention will be used with an external flow control that will prevent the high flows from entering the invention.

SECOND MODIFIED FORM OF THE INVENTION

A second modified form of the invention is shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. This modified form includes a diversion structure, which provides the hydraulic controls referenced in the first modified form of the invention. FIG. 6 shows a plan view of the invention with the diversion structure. In this form, the inlet means 201 conveys contaminated fluid to the diversion structure 200. The fluid is held back by flow control 202, which is a weir with a crest elevation higher than the invert of conveyance 204. During periods of low flow, weir 202 forces the influent water into the container 11, which is the same as the first modified form of the invention. The treated fluids exits container 11 and returns to structure 200 through conveyance means 205. The fluid then exits the system through outlet 203.

During periods of high influent flow rate, the fluid level in chamber 206 rises due to the backup of fluid in tank 11. When the fluid level exceeds the elevation of the crest of weir 202, the fluid flows over the weir, by passing tank 11, and flows directly to outlet means 203. This flow path negates the necessity for the overflow flow path described in the preferred form of the invention. 

1. A system for cleaning runoff water, comprising: a vortex chamber, an inlet for feeding said runoff water into said vortex chamber to produce a swirling action, said vortex chamber having a skirt portion extending below said inlet.
 2. A system for cleaning runoff water as defined in claim 1 in which said skirt portion forms a storage area for lighter-than-water contaminants that remain in the vortex chamber after the runoff water has swirled.
 3. A system for cleaning runoff water as defined in claim 2, comprising: means for holding said contaminants in said skirt portion.
 4. A system for cleaning runoff water as defined in claim 1, in which an outer chamber holds said vortex chamber including its skirt portion.
 5. A system for cleaning runoff water as defined in claim 4, in which said outer chamber has a sidewall which defines a water outlet.
 6. A system for cleaning runoff water as defined in claim 5, including at least one permeable barrier located between said sidewall and said skirt portion for cleaning the water that passes from said skirt portion on its way to said outlet.
 7. A system for cleaning runoff water as defined in claim 6, in which said screen has louvers in the path of flow of the water, said louvers extending from and forming an acute angle with the permeable barrier, said path of flow entering the space defined by said acute angle.
 8. A cleaning system having a permeable barrier for cleaning fluid passing through the permeable barrier, and louvers mounted on said permeable barrier, each louver being mounted at an angle that will tend to prevent contaminants from clogging the permeable barrier.
 9. A cleaning system including a permeable barrier comprising means projecting away from said permeable barrier for trapping contaminants.
 10. The method of cleaning runoff water, comprising: swirling the water, at a given location, to separate the contaminants from the water and confining the lighter-than-water contaminants to a confined space below said given location.
 11. The method of cleaning runoff water as defined in claim 10, in which the water, after passing through said swirl, is screened to remove heavier-than-water contaminants.
 12. A system for cleaning runoff water that may vary from a low to a high flow rate, comprising: a vortex chamber, an inlet for receiving said runoff water and directing that water into said vortex chamber to produce a swirling action by the water, a settling chamber for receiving the water after it swirls, an outlet fed by water from said settling chamber, at least one permeable barrier in the path of the water passing from said settling chamber to said outlet, and a by-pass conduit for diverting part of the water around said permeable barrier when the incoming flow rate is large.
 13. A system for cleaning runoff water that may vary from a low to a high flow rate, as defined in claim 12, in which said permeable barrier defines a hole through it, and said by-pass conduit passing through said hole.
 14. A system for cleaning runoff water that may vary from a low to a high flow rate as defined in claim 13, wherein said permeable barrier is a screen.
 15. A system for cleaning runoff water, comprising: a vortex chamber, an inlet for feeding said runoff water into said chamber to produce a swirling action, said chamber discharging said water after it has swirled, said chamber including an outlet that narrows its cross-section as it decreases its altitude, for maintaining said swirling action while the water increases speed and the water then expands when it leaves the chamber.
 16. A system for cleaning runoff water as defined in claim 15, having: a settling chamber located below said vortex chamber for receiving the water from said vortex chamber wherein heavier-than-water contaminants may separate from the water and collect at the bottom of the settling chamber.
 17. A system for cleaning runoff water, comprising: a vortex chamber, an inlet for feeding said runoff water to said vortex chamber to produce a swirl, a settling chamber below said vortex chamber to receive the water after it has swirled, and means for preventing the swirling water from resuspending any accumulated material in said settling chamber.
 18. A system for cleaning runoff water as defined in claim 17, in which said settling chamber has a sidewall which extends upward to an elevation higher than the lowest end of said vortex chamber, and at least one screen extending from said sidewall to said vortex chamber for cleaning the water passing through such screen.
 19. A system for cleaning runoff water as defined in claim 1, in which said skirt increases its cross-section as it extends further downward from said inlet.
 20. A system for cleaning runoff water as defined in claim 1, in which the water enters a by-pass in which very high rates of flow are by-passed to an outlet and low flow rates enter said inlet. 